Here's the thing... I'm 33 and I'd love to swim masters but the meets aren't any fun. No atmosphere. What's a most fun in swimming? Kids summer league dual tri and quad meets on a beautiful summer evening. I'd love to head to my local pool on a weekend evening or afternoon have something like a bar setup for spectators, a crowded deck and have the 2,3,4 or 5 (whatever) local masters clubs square off for team points and light bragging rights. Definitely a reduced event schedule, shorter meet, fewer individual events, more mixed relays. I spent a decade spending all day at regional and national meets watching heats tick by and its boring as heck. Sailing has weeknight races. Towns have summer night 5k race series. Cities have incredibly popular kickball, soccer, and softball leagues after work. Why not swimming? We know what works for local kids meets, why not add some fun and local camaraderie back into things?
I'm new here so just my 2cents.
I know very few of my people in my age group (under 40) who swim. I understand there are other non-swimming activities. For example, running is much more popular than swimming. But I wonder why there are very few who are interested in swimming as exercise in general, without considering swimming in a USMS club? Pool admittance, swimsuit, and goggles actually don't amount to that much. When I swam in my college years, it was just these essentials.
The first answer to this question seems to often be the kids thing. As someone in that age bracket, I don't find this to be the case at all. In my experience, there are a variety of factors that vary by region, but the underlying thing is that as an organization, I don't believe USMS offers much for this age bracket.
To start off, JPEnge hit the nail on the head. For many high school and college swimmers, they can't wait for swimming to be over. Its tough on the body and demanding coaches and rigorous schedules are also tough on the mind, and they just want a break. If 18-40 y/o are participating in athletic events, its typically triathlon and/or some sort of road race, and they don't need to swim with a USMS group to do that.
For those former swimmers getting back in the water, many will continue to stay away from competitive events for years due years of bad experiences and/or fear of not being as fast as they were. This seems illogical to many of us, but there are plenty of swimmers who want NOTHING to do with a meet. Completely uninterested. So again, if all you are doing is working out in the water, you don't need USMS to do that.
Finally, as folks this age are getting on their feet financially, there is a financial piece to this discussion. Parents are not supporting this habit any longer. There are costs to join a club/pool, join usms and pay for workouts. Throw in an event or two, new suit, goggles, equipment, and you can easily surpass $1000/yr (at least where I am located), not to mention transit/parking costs. Think of a kid who graduated yesterday with $100k in student loan debt. Even with a decent job, I'm pretty sure that finding a roof over their head and eating (probably a lot of ramen) will usurp swimming for 9 out of 10 former swimmers who will have to put swimming at the bottom of financial priorities. Plus lets not forget there are plenty of other new, fun non-swimming activities for kids fresh out of college (happy hour!).
I know very few of my people in my age group (under 40) who swim. I understand there are other non-swimming activities. For example, running is much more popular than swimming. But I wonder why there are very few who are interested in swimming as exercise in general, without considering swimming in a USMS club? Pool admittance, swimsuit, and goggles actually don't amount to that much. When I swam in my college years, it was just these essentials.
I would say lack of access to pools and for adult-onset swimmers, the time and effort necessary to educate yourself how to swim at all.
Easiest answer: Life.
Once you are done with college swimming you are onto a career, family, travel, work, home, sleep (as you get older you need more). Then you also have the "wew.... it is done" feeling after your last college meet. It took me almost 30 years to realize I missed my pool time and the sport. So, in my 50's I am trying to get back into it and also having to get over being disgusted by my times, I mean, you should get better with age, shouldn't you?
I suspect many others suddenly return to swimming in their late 40's and 50s.
Kids, yes that's part of it for many. Burn-out from AG, HS, and/or College swimming is, too. For me, the big change was becoming secure in my career. I spent more time at work in my 20's and 30's than I do now in my 40's. Now I can take a long lunch to swim a couple times a week, or leave an hour early on Friday's to make Masters Team Practice. I used to work every Saturday, but do so only occasionally, now, so there's not as much family conflict with going to a meet or team practice or bike ride or triathlon on Sunday. I get more vacation, and, with seniority, priority choice of vacation dates over younger co-workers. In short, I don't have to put as much mental or physical energy into my career as I did when I was younger, and can re-direct the difference to swimming.
I'm also probably not alone in having had a "moment" when I looked in the mirror and thought "my goodness, If I'm this unfit in my mid-40's, what am I going to be like in my 50's, 60's, and 70's?" If you were athletic as a young person, you always feel like you can get back into shape "someday." For me, I finally got to the point where I thought "'someday' is today or never. If I don't do this now, I'll be too far gone to ever get it back." That was 4 years ago. I'm closing in on 50, and in better shape than I was at any time since I got out of the Army at 21.
For many high school and college swimmers, they can't wait for swimming to be over.
I think you’re right and that is sad. Perhaps it speaks to the training regimen these swimmers are asked to undergo, which in some cases may be beyond what is necessary for success, and crosses the line into severe overtraining.
Here's the thing... I'm 33 and I'd love to swim masters but the meets aren't any fun. No atmosphere. What's a most fun in swimming? Kids summer league dual tri and quad meets on a beautiful summer evening. I'd love to head to my local pool on a weekend evening or afternoon have something like a bar setup for spectators, a crowded deck and have the 2,3,4 or 5 (whatever) local masters clubs square off for team points and light bragging rights. Definitely a reduced event schedule, shorter meet, fewer individual events, more mixed relays. I spent a decade spending all day at regional and national meets watching heats tick by and its boring as heck. Sailing has weeknight races. Towns have summer night 5k race series. Cities have incredibly popular kickball, soccer, and softball leagues after work. Why not swimming? We know what works for local kids meets, why not add some fun and local camaraderie back into things?
I'm new here so just my 2cents.
There is some truth to this. I was a mediocre age group swimmer and competed in the OCSC which was sort of a summer league and eventually won the 100 yard fly as a teenager.. It had dual meets. I did some masters meets when I was 45 and 46 years old and some were long as you stated. I stopped swimming again for 7 years and started up again in May of 2016 went to the local Senior Olympics and won a couple of medals. I saw a picture of swimmers at that meet. In 2018, I did the same thing. We had a little opening ceremony which I went to and carried the swimming sign. Some pictures on the Tucson city website and a picture of me winning the heat of the 100 yard breaststroke. What made this more fun was the pictures and medals and basically less events since we didn't do the 200 yards of the different strokes. This event didn't qualify for the national event like the Phoenix state one. You could buy both pins and t-shirts of the event.
